Dr. Coplan returns to Silberman’s Neurotribes, in his discussion of the 3D universe of Atypicality, IQ, and Age.

I began this thread several weeks back, with a discussion of Steve Silberman’s book, Neurotribes. Silberman (and others, including myself) have rightly observed that people with mild atypicality have been with us all along, flying under the radar of an autism spectrum diagnosis. That led into a discussion of my 3D model of ASD, which integrates Atypicality, IQ, and Age into a 3-dimensional “developmental universe,” within which we can readily discern the different “constellations” (or, to borrow Silberman’s term, “neurotribes”) of persons on the spectrum: “High” and “Low” Functioning Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Intellectual Disability with mild Atypicality, as well as “Borderland” diagnoses such as Nonverbal Learning Disability and Sensory Processing Disorder. Read the rest of this entry »